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Comparisons that over-do

All living things derive their essential energy from the environment – the vital food and liquid are absorbed. These inventories are distributed internally and used for different tasks during operation. As soon as the stocks fall below a certain degree of filling, the renewed supply of energy is inevitable and the cycle starts all over again. The required quantity is determined by the size of the body, the number of consumption points and the desired power. For deposits that are currently not needed stocks are created, which are extracted, if there is no immediate supply from the outside. These buffers also require energy to remain available. There are mechanisms, such as the feeling of satiety, that regulate the exaggerated intake. However, today we live in an organized world of abundance. Innate sensations of satiety are getting lost. And when we additionally compare ourselves with others, it pushes us beyond the limits of what is needed.

Thus comparisons are harmful for a balanced energy intake. Let’s take a look at three such areas.

  • Possession
    The easiest thing to compare are physical possessions – my houses, my planes, my boats, my cars. The 0.1% of the world population own 80% of the financial assets. However, these assets are in the virtual space. All that it takes to evaporate these values is a sufficiently large crisis. The more than 99% then lose, but only their part of the remaining 20%, which are distributed over almost seven billion people. With 5 trillion Euros of assets worldwide, this means that 34.5 trillion Euros are distributed over approx. 7 billion people, i.e. on average per capita assets 4,500 Euros of the 7 billions versus 18,000,000 Euros of the 0.1%.
  • Reputation
    A study from the US shows that well-being does not increase any further beyond an annual income of US$ 75,000. If material things are no longer important, then recognition, appreciation and reputation offer a good opportunity to compare oneself with others. The reputation results from outstanding scientific contributions, from a special moral standing or a passionate image as well as from an extraordinary social engagement. A good example is philanthropy, private welfare, which has evolved especially where the state does not assume any responsibility. To make these comparisons visible, there are corresponding lists.
  • Performance
    Benchmarking can be carried out in all areas and strata of the population – e.g. financially, professionally, spiritually, mentally, physically, in partnership, emotionally, and artistically. The development to road panzer was certainly fueled by the neighborly competition for the largest. The rivalries in professional life begin, when one compares the own progress with that of others and their advancement in the first job. The fervor of one’s own faith is defined through regular participation in religious rituals and engagement of missionary work of dissenters, so that one stands in the line for salvation before the competitors. Or let’s take as a last example any kind of physical fitness which puts, through regular training, your own body in a better shape than that of your acquaintances.

Bottom line: The comparison is an essential accelerant for the competition in all areas of life. A certain amount of competition is helpful in overcoming one’s weaker self. However, the various driving forces have no point of satiation, which leads individuals to exaggerate. These zealots are not happy with what they possess, represent or perform. The result are the excesses that generate extremism in all areas. The triggers are predominantly the everyday benchmarks that drive us forward consciously or unconsciously – Comparisons that over-do.

When the noise is not not perceived

The dilemma with PR is the way in which publications are used to consciously affect public opinion with methods adopted from propaganda, e.g., context hiding, new word creations or exaggerations. At the beginning of the twentieth century these effective practices were abused. These crimes cast a shadow across nowadays PR efforts. The conceit that lies in all measures to better communication conceals the fact that A L L messages  A L W A Y S have an effect on the target group. Each message is interpreted personally, whether it has been consciously tailored to manipulate or whether it simply produces an unintended effect. The vast amount of information generates today a noise that cannot be avoided.

Fatally, even messages that are not consciously designed can have an effect that, in extreme cases, turns against the real message. For this reason, even the biggest adversaries of opinion-making are obliged to take care of their messages – or to remain silent forever, i.e. not to send any more messages. The following points ameliorate the intended effect.

  • Avoid harmful distortions
    The meaning arises in the mind of the recipient by harmonizing the message with the available ideas of the mind. The word choice plays an important role, even if it cannot guarantee that the desired effect will be achieved. However, stigma words that load a message with unpleasant emotions can predictably distort the meaning.
    Publications of all kinds should therefore be searched for elements that unintentionally distort the message – e.g. cultural diversity instead of multiculti; affiliation instead of solidarity; adjustment instead of destruction.
  • Reinforce the proper sense
    At the same time, the smart word choice underlines a message. It works through the linking with supporting thoughts. Individual words can provide the recipient with confident content that promotes the actual message.
    For this reason, publications should be supported with appropriate metaphors and encouraging words – e.g. location preservation instead of job cuts; design framework instead of boundary; autonomous instead of liable.
  • Synchronize all channels
    Messages can also be framed with supporting multi-media contents. For this purpose a luring design is chosen – a pleasant font, well readable paragraphs, and conducive visualizations in pleasant colors. Particularly visual elements prepare messages in such a way that the consciousness adapts before the actual content is perceived to a certain interpretation that facilitates understanding and acceptance – for example through the hue of an image or the choice of a pleasant view point that triggers positive associations. In the case of sound and moving picture broadcasts, the messages are shaped by the speaking style as well as music and sounds.
    The formats should be chosen to intensify the desired effect – the image of a lonesome bay instead of an overcrowded beach; healthy instead of sick; forest instead of clear cutting.
  • Attentively processing feedback
    Sending the message is not the end of the story. The target group or the counterpart provide afterwards an echo that shows what and how well the content has been received. A direct answer is the easiest to process – No; Not like this; I do not agree. Indirect feedback can also be understood – Yes, but …; However …; And most of all ….
    Therefore, following message dissemination, the reception channels should be opened – provide occasions for discussion and comments, e.g. on/offline mailboxes, online forums or workshops.
  • Positive formulation is clearer
    The actual message can also be sharpened by always using positive expressions. Rejecting statements and generalizations are inaccurate because they do not say what one actually wants. – not: not, never, always, none, all, nowhere, someone, the company, the state, the world, life, etc.
    For this reason, it is suggested to use descriptive statements in order to clarify the message – exactly when? Where? With whom? What’s the point? For what reason?

Bottom line: Consciously dealing with the own messages, in order to make it easier for the target group to understand, is a duty of the broadcasters. Communications are disseminated in order to achieve a certain effect. To this end, one avoids distortions, strengthens the actual message through smart preparation, exploits all multi-media possibilities, hears and processes the target group feedback and formulates statements positively. The desire to avoid this form of influence for not being suspected of manipulation calls the communication measure itself into question. It is precisely a matter of clarifying one’s view point and convincing the recipients. If this would be unethical PR, then communication would no longer be possible. The point is to prepare your message, which is justified from your own point of view, in such a way that it achieves the desired effect. If the noise is not not perceived, it is important to describe the own standpoint as simply and clearly as possible.